Finally, the exam day came. Oliver was so excited that he could barely hold it in. He felt as if, for the first time, he had some luck. The two hours trip from the village to the capital couldn't even be felt by him. He lost all sense of time. All he had in mind was the exam.
He arrived at last at The Royal Academy of Susa. The building was impressive and so were the school fields. Everything looked so nice and expensive that he hoped he could fly so that he wouldn't dust the floor. Anyway, he was hoping this would become his home for the coming four years. So, with that in mind, he went to the receptionist and said:
"Good morning! My name is Oliver and I am here to take the entry test. Could you tell me where I should go, please?"
"Good morning, young man! I would be glad to. Here is the map of the building. You go this way, then you take a right and the second door on the left is where you will meet the teacher that will test you." responded the receptionist brightly.
"Thank you very much! Have a nice day!" said Oliver.
"You too! And good luck at your exams!" said in response the receptionist.
As he walked toward his destination, he couldn't stop wandering what his exam would consist of. However, this was going to be a perfect day. He could feel it.
Oliver entered the room and there he saw a boy, about his age, who was probably there to take the exams as well. Also, he saw two adults: a man and a woman.
"Good morning! My name is Oliver and I am here to take the entry test." he said
"Good morning! You arrived just in time! Take a seat!" said the female examiner. "This is William. The two of you will take the test together. The entry test is taken in pairs, but that doesn't necessarily mean that both will pass or fail. Are there any questions so far?"
"No." said both boys.
"Perfect. Then I will tell you what your schedule will look like." said the male examiner. "First, you will take the written exam. We will check that, and if you pass, you will move on to the next exam. You have one hour for your written exam. No talking is allowed. I will give you your exam papers and then you may begin. Is everything clear?"
"Yes, Sir!" both boys exclaimed.
The examiners gave them the papers and the written exam began. Oliver felt pretty confident because he knew the answers to the first questions. However, there were two questions he wasn't sure about, so he tried to guess the answer. After that, it all went well and he finished the exam and so did the other student, so they both passed the sheets and the examiners said that they can have a 20 minutes break, until they check the answers, so they both went outside.
"How did you do on your test?" asked Oliver.
"I think I did pretty well, but there were 5 questions that I wasn't sure at, so I tried to guess. However, even a score of 95 is good enough, so I think that I will pass. How about you?" said William.
"I think I did pretty well. There were two questions that I didn't know the answer, but I tried to guess as well. I hope everything will be fine. I'm Oliver, by the way. Nice to meet you!" he said as he extended his arm for a handshake.
"I'm William. Nice to meet you too!" he said as they shook hands. "You seem like a nice guy. I hope we will be in the same class!"
"Thank you! You seem like a nice guy as well. I hope we'll be classmates as well!" said Oliver.
"You may come back in!" said a someone from inside.
The two boys walked in and saw the examiners smiling: "Boys, you did a great job! You both pass! We don't remember ever evaluating entry exams so good. William, your score is 99 points out of 100. Oliver, yours is 98. Congratulations! You can go to the cafeteria and have lunch and then you will have another 15 minutes to prepare for your practical exam. See you then!" said the examiners.
"Wow, I can't believe I was so lucky as to get 4 out of 5 right! This is great! Dad better rise my monthly allowance!..." rejoiced William. "By the way, congratulations, Oliver!"
"Thank you! Likewise!" said Oliver with mixed feelings. In his mind there were many thoughts fighting. He was happy that he passed with a very good grade, but also sad that he came in second. He couldn't understand why this happened, thought... in terms of actual knowledge, he knew more than William. Was it raining with luck on William for him to be able to not know 5 questions and steel get 4 of them right? Well, anyway, Oliver wasn't the type to compare himself with others and entering was his main objective, so he moved on quickly.